Soft Start Seen For Malaysia Stock Market

(RTTNews) - The Malaysia stock market on Monday snapped the three-day winning streak in which it had gathered almost 30 points or 2 percent. The Kuala Lumpur Composite Index now rests just beneath the 1,465-point plateau and it's predicted to open under pressure again on Tuesday.

The global forecast for the Asian markets is mixed to lower, with oil and technology stocks expected to weigh. The European markets were up and the U.S. bourses were down and the Asian markets are tipped to follow the latter lead.

The KLCI finished slightly lower on Monday following losses from the financials, support from the glove makers and mixed performances from the telecoms and plantations.

For the day, the index dipped 4.21 points or 0.29 percent to finish at 1,464.00 after trading between 1,459.05 and 1,468.99. Volume was 2.79 billion shares worth 1.56 billion ringgit. There were 445 decliners and 431 gainers.

Among the actives, Axiata tumbled 1.68 percent, while CIMB Group sank 0.54 percent, Dialog Group spiked 1.96 percent, Genting gained 0.44 percent, Genting Malaysia advanced, Hartalega Holdings soared 2.38 percent, IHH Healthcare fell 0.17 percent, INARI rallied 0.77 percent, IOI Corporation added 0.50 percent, Kuala Lumpur Kepong lost 0.47 percent, Maybank dipped 0.12 percent, Maxis declined 1.56 percent, Petronas Chemicals eased 0.11 percent, PPB Group shed 0.49 percent, Press Metal tanked 1.67 percent, Public Bank retreated 1.57 percent, Sime Darby climbed 0.89 percent, Sime Darby Plantations rose 0.22 percent, Telekom Malaysia perked 0.18 percent, Tenaga Nasional dropped 0.59 percent, Top Glove surged 6.25 percent and MISC, MRDIY, RHB Capital and Digi.com were unchanged.

The lead from Wall Street is soft as the major averages opened lower on Monday, bounced higher in the afternoon but then a late swoon sent them all into the red at the close.

The Dow dropped 211.16 points or 0.63 percent to finish at 33,536.70, while the NASDAQ slumped 127.11 points or 1.12 percent to end at 11,196.22 and the S&P 500 lost 35.68 points or 0.89 percent to close at 3,957.25.

The volatility on Wall Street came as traders expressed some uncertainty about the near-term outlook for the markets following last week's rally.

The lower close on the day came despite comments from Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard that added to optimism about a slower pace of rate hikes.

Crude oil prices slumped Monday on concerns about the outlook for energy demand from China, a downward revision in demand growth forecast by OPEC and a stronger dollar. West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures for December ended lower by $3.09 or 3.5 percent at $85.87 a barrel.